Telegram announced today that it is now delivering more than 2 billion messages everyday. The instant messaging client, which is available across multiple platforms, has seen its user activity grow double in the last five months.

In order to stay relevant in the game, Telegram has been aggressively introducing new and essential features to its platform. Last month, for example, the company added a feature called ‘Active Sessions’ to help a user monitor the devices he/she is logged in with. The company also added the two-step-authentication feature to bolster internal security. It is one of the only messenger apps with this feature .

Another feature that separates Telegram from others is its built-in support to allow users to send a file as large as 1.5GB to their friends using the app. In addition, Telegram also supports hashtags, and a plethora of stickers if you are into such things.

Unlike WhatsApp, Telegram has a native desktop client, which many users crave for. It is worth mentioning that WhatsApp announced WhatsApp Web for Web browsers that allows users to stay connected to the service.

The rise of internet-powered instant messenger

Instant messaging clients such as WhatsApp, Telegram, Messenger, Hike, Skype among others have reduced the importance and our reliance on traditional texting (SMSs). As analyst Ben Evans succintly point out earlier this year, WhatsApp alone is now used to send more messages than traditional texting in a day. But now the focus seems to have shifted on taking our calls over the internet. It will be interesting to how it affects the traditional calling.

Manish Singh Ex-Author Manish is an Engineering graduate in Computer Science but spends more time in writing about technology. He has written for a number of Indian and international publications including BetaNews, BGR India, WinBeta, MakeTechEasier, MediaNama, and Digit magazine among others. When not writing, you would find him ranting about the state of digital journalism on Twitter.